High Court judgment on disqualification of 12 Goa MLAs on Thursday

The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court will on Thursday pronounce its judgment on two separate petitions seeking disqualification of 12 MLAs who left their respective parties and joined the ruling BJP in 2019, a counsel of one of the petitioners said on Wednesday.

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Girish Chodankar had filed a disqualification petition against 10 party MLAs who had switched over to the BJP in July 2019. Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA Sudin Dhavalikar had also filed a similar petition before the bench against two MGP MLAs who had joined the BJP in the same year by splitting the regional party. Advocate Abhijit Desai, who represents Chodankar, told PTI that judgment on both the petitions would be pronounced by a Division Bench comprising Justices Manish Pitale and R N Laddha at around 10.30 am on Thursday. On April 20, 2021, Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly Rajesh Patnekar had dismissed the disqualification petitions filed by Chodankar and Dhavalikar. The judgement is awaited even as polls to elect a new 40-member Goa assembly concluded on February 14.